Tamal Kundu
Portrayed by Luciano Leroux, Javi Martinez is an important supporting character in ‘Yellowjackets.’ He is the younger brother of Travis Martinez and the son of Bill Martinez, the head coach of the WHS Yellowjackets. In 1996, he is about 12 or 13 years old. Even though he is not a member of the team, he joins his father, older brother, and members of the Yellowjackets team on their flight to Seattle for the nationals. He becomes one of the only two male survivors of the crash alongside Travis when the plane crashes in the Ontario wilderness.
In season 1, the brothers deal with the loss of their father, and as the weather becomes more severe, they grow close to each other and various members of the Yellowjackets. In the season finale, Javi runs away when the girls attack Travis under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms. He is eventually found in season 2. If the recent events in ‘Yellowjackets’ have made you wonder whether Javi is dead, here is what we know. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Javi’s Fate in Yellowjackets
Yes, Javi is most likely dead in ‘Yellowjackets.’ Since Taissa and Lottie found him in the woods, he hasn’t said anything until season 2 episode 8, making his brother concerned. Travis partly blames Nat, as she made him believe that Javi was dead, and he stopped looking. However, in this episode, Travis sees how good Nat is with his younger brother and mends things with her. Meanwhile, Lottie lingers on the verge of death since she was beaten to a pulp by Shauna. While speaking to Coach Scott, Nat observes that it will be better for everyone if Lottie dies. And it is not just because of her deteriorating health. Nat is more concerned about her ramblings, which have affected almost all the survivors, including Javi, who was seen bowing to a Symbol.
This piques Scott’s interest, as he realizes that Javi must have been hiding near the Symbol. He rummages through Javi’s things while the boy is sleeping and finds drawings of the tree where the Symbol is. He sets out the following morning while others come to a drastic decision. Lottie asks Misty to make use of her if she dies, effectively giving the others permission to eat her after her death. But the others refuse, especially with what Lottie has done for them. Instead, to satiate their own hunger and save Lottie, they decide to use one of them as a sacrifice.
The survivors take a deck of cards, mark one of them, and shuffle the card. Each of them then proceeds to pick one card from the deck. Eventually, Nat picks the marked card, but before she is killed, Travis, remembering what the others have done to him on Doomcoming, intervenes to let Nat escape. One group of the girls subdues Travis while others run after Nat. Javi catches up with her and, speaking for the first time since his return, urges her to come with him as he knows a place she can hide, most likely referring to the cave that Scott finds.
However, while fleeing the others across a frozen lake, the ice gives away under Javi’s feet, and he falls into the water. As he begs to be rescued, the other girls arrive, and Misty stops Nat, reminding her that if she saves Javi, they will have to kill her. After Javi dies, the girls pull his body out, with some of them claiming the Wilderness has chosen its sacrifice. Unbeknownst to them, Scott finds food and water in the cave, which explains how Javi survived there on his own for that long.
Luciano Leroux’s Departure from Yellowjackets
With his character dead, it is safe to assume that Leroux will no longer appear on ‘Yellowjackets,’ though it is always possible for him to make guest appearances in future episodes in flashbacks or as hallucinations to his brother and other characters.
At the start of season 2, there was much speculation about whether Leroux would appear, as it wasn’t unclear whether he was dead. ‘Yellowjackets’ brings him back only to give a more impactful send-off. When the survivors learn about the resources in the cave, they will realize that they let Javi die for nothing. His brother’s death is bound to leave Travis traumatized, playing a role in his eventual suicide.
Read More: Yellowjackets Season 2 Episode 8 Recap and Ending, Explained
